There are 22 Comments

Select Comments:

BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT CHOOSING TO GO HERE! I visited the summer before my senior year. The gorgeous campus drew me in. By the end of the tour, my mom and I fell in love with the school. I applied ED1 and got in (but didn't get a penny of scholarship money :/). I chose the school because of its great academics, beautiful campus, nice facilities, and proximity to home. I DID NOT ASSESS THE SOCIAL ASPECT! I figured that friends would come on their own as long as I wasn't in my dorm all day everyday. It turns out that despite my efforts, I cannot make friends here and I feel like I don't fit in. I talked to a counselor (at least Bucknell has a good student development center) and she said that I should consider transferring. She told me that a lot of people put on a mask to fit in with the crowd and that friendships are often superficial. If you're like me (a shy introvert with a hatred of partying/drinking and a need for one or two close friends instead of a bunch of casual ones), DO NOT GO HERE! I'm so lonely here that I might even transfer in the fall.That being said, the social aspect is the only problem I have with the school, so if you're not like me, you'll fit right in and I HIGHLY recommend it. The professors are awesome, the food's alright, the gym is great (I was able to start working out thanks to the free group fitness classes offered there), and the dorms are nice.

As a senior, my opinion of Bucknell has changed a lot. My freshman year was a blast. My sophomore year so-so. My junior year I spent abroad. And my senior year was miserable.

Academically, I wouldn't describe most students as being particularly intellectual. I would definitely agree that in general, they are bright but that's as far as it goes. Bucknell is definitely not Reed College, but frankly, it would be nice if many Bucknell students cared more about their learning. I have had several classes that are nice and cozy, but honestly, most of the time, only about 4-5 people out of 12 the whole semester participate substantially. There are some people, who seriously don't think about what they're saying and other people want to roll their eyes.

The professors are great, but some of the less difficult professors, unless they teach core classes, are very lenient because they want students to enroll in their courses. The academic rigor in these situations suffers.

I think there is great support for extra curricular activities, but I feel oftentimes students choose to concentrate on their participation in Greek life. For student activities, there is an abundance in funding, but I've observed that oftentimes, clubs don't necessarily use the funds they've requested. This is public information to other students with access to Netspace.

Formerly being Greek, I definitely get the appeal of Greek life. As a warning for those who aren't interested in going Greek, I think this school is difficult to navigate socially unless you are willing to put forth a substantial amount of effort. Effort that wouldn't be necessary if you went to a more culturally diverse college.

During my sister's senior year of high school, I didn't recommend Bucknell. She's the type of person, who likes hanging out with a bunch of different kinds of people, uninterested in practices of snobbery, is academically very capable, etc. And I'm glad I didn't. She goes elsewhere at a top 10 university and enjoys it.There are a lot of reasons why I really liked Bucknell in the past. I've had a lot of great experiences here. But for $50,000 per year, there are a lot of options. And many of the experiences I had at Bucknell I could have had at another decent liberal arts college. To be real. You really have to like the social life at Bucknell and everything that comes with it. Otherwise, those things (the Bucknell Bubble that makes it "unique") might be precisely why you hate it.